Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
From Conservapedia
Kamal Atatürk or Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ((May 19, 1881 – November 10, 1938) was an army officer, revolutionary statesman, the founder of the Republic of Turkey and its first President. He was a successful division commander in the Battle of Gallipoli. When the Allies defeated the Ottoman Empire and arranged for its partition, he led a rebellion in the Turkish War of Independence. From Sep 9, 1923 to Nov 10, 1938, he was also leader of the Republican People's Party.
Kemal deposed the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire in 1922 and became president of Turkey in 1923. It is estimated that over 99% of Turks are Muslim [1], but Kemal established a secular rule based on a strong military. He abolished Islamic courts and gave women the right to vote and hold government positions. As a result of his efforts, Turkey is the only Muslim country to independently hold democratic elections.
Samuel Huntington defines "Kamalism" as a response to attempts at "reconciliation of Islam and modernity', or to modernise Islam without Westernization.
The National Assembly which first convened on 23 April 1920 in Ankara was the first clue to the Turkish Republic. The successful management of the War of Independence by this assembly accelerated the founding of the new Turkish State. On 1 November 1922, the offices of the Sultan and caliph were severed from one other and the former was abolished. There was no longer any administrative ties with the Ottoman Empire. On 29 October 1923, Turkish Republic was formally proclaimed and Atatürk was unanimously elected as its first President. On 30 October 1923, the first government of the Republic was formed by İsmet İnönü. Turkish Republic started to grow on the foundations of the twin principles "Sovereignty, unconditionally belongs to the nation" and "peace at home, peace in the world," Biography of Atatürk
See also
External links
- Ataturk-Republic of Turkiye
- Kamal Ataturk Despot and dictator.
- Samuel P Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order, New York: Touchtone, 1997. [2]
